A great way to begin is to pick up a basic book and follow that up with a seminar or conference. Then once you get the core principles down, joining a forum and reading and sharing in the discussion is often very helpful. Make friends and then experiment through trial and error. Finally, go back to the conferences and also read the more technically written books. Rinse and repeat.

Ammon warns;

The one thing I would caution against is if anyone were considering a course being an investment to make them an instant SEO. It won't. The course is merely a fast way to get all the basic principles into your mind so that you can then set off to learn more advanced and specialized skills from there.

Does the order I listed above matter? I don't think it has to be in that order, that is why it is listed in bullet format and not number format.